A Word About Free iOS Apps

Did you know that once you purchase an app, you can always download that app again for free? This is handy for apps that have been accidentally deleted or you want to download a purchased app onto a second computer or device.

As you might have noticed, an app can change price. Prices often go up and down. For example, in April I bought the student response app eClicker Host for $24.99. In May, the price was reduced to $9.99, and the app continues to be priced at less than half what I paid. Developers have the freedom to change prices at any time.

To tell the truth, you can live happily without ever paying for an app because a large portion of apps are free. In fact, 30% of the apps in the App Store are free of charge. App developers price their apps at $0 for many reasons:

• the app makes money from advertising
• the entire app is an advertisement
• the app is a "lite" version of a paid app
• the app does not make money for the developer

Another reason an app may be offered for free is that the developer wants to build buzz for the app. Often apps are offered for free for a day or two before returning to the original price. For example, SonicPics is currently priced at $2.99. I happened to have downloaded the app in April when the app was offered for free for one day.

Remember that app downloads, whether they are free or paid, are associated with a single iTunes account. If an app is for classroom use, be sure to download it using the classroom or school iTunes account so that it can be installed on the devices that use that account.

When you download a free app for use on a classroom set of handhelds, I suggest documenting it. If the school is audited by Apple, you then have proof the app was purchased for free.

There are a number of sources that provide timely information on app price reductions:

• AppShopper.com and the AppShopper app provide many search options. I like the Popular Price Changes in Education page. You can limit that page to just iPhone or iPad apps. Education isn't the only app category with great apps for students, so you it might be worth checking out Popular Price Changes in All Categories. AppShopper is nice enough to provide web feeds for these price reduction lists.
• Twitter users frequently share apps they have found on sale. Even if you don't have a Twitter account, you can search Twitter for #edapp free to see if there are any current deals.
• iTunes lists Top Free Apps in Education (and top free apps for all other categories). Apps that are on sale often climb to the top of the Top Free Apps lists as users grab them before the price reverts back to paid.
• FreeAppAlert tracks paid iPhone apps that just became free. You can get their alerts via email if you'd like. Similarly there's Free App a Day, but it focuses mainly on games.

If you have any kind of inkling that you might use a free app, I suggest "purchasing" it while it's on sale. You can immediately delete the app if you don't want the app taking up space on your device or in your iTunes library. Like paid apps, you can always download an app you "purchased" for free again from the App Store. This works even after the app has increased in price. In other words, you can download a free app, delete it, and re-download it for free anytime in the future, even if the app is no longer offered for free.

To re-download an app, you will have to click its price in the App Store. This will make it seem like you are going to have to pay for it. However, after entering your password, the App Store will display a message that you have already purchased the app and kindly informs you that you can re-download free of charge.

Obviously, paying attention to price reductions can save lots of money, especially when it comes to class sets of iOS devices.

Refine Your Twitter #edapp Search

Twitter has become a valuable tool to discover educational apps. I've written about the #edapp keyword tag, and Episode #22 of my podcast features apps I learned about through the Twitter #edapp tag. Since searching Twitter is now a part of my daily routine, I thought I'd share some search tips.

When you use the twitter.com website, you can save a search. Login and input your search into the box on the right side of the page. On the search results page, click Save this search. The search text will appear on the right side of the page under Saved Searches each time you're logged in. You can click the saved search to see the latest results without having to retype the search.  Your Saved Searches also appear in many Twitter apps for handy access. 

Before you save your search, consider refining it. You can refine the #edapp search to produce results that are more useful. One thing you can do is add more tags to the search. I've added #iear to my search. #iear is the tag used by the I Educational Apps Review community. I've also added #slide2learn. Slide to Learn 2010 was a conference in Australia devoted to Apple's handhelds and the conversion continues on Twitter. To have your search display results from all three tags, enter the following into the search field (be sure to capitalize OR):

#edapp OR #iear OR #slide2learn

Retweets are when someone repeats someone else's Twitter update. Retweets are a way for users to give credit to the original author and to repeat the information to their own followers. Most of the time retweets start with RT. I often look out for RTs because these are the tweets that someone thought were so important that they were worth repeating. However, retweets can be annoying when reading through the results of a Twitter search because you find yourself reading the same tweets over and over. You can omit retweets from your search results by adding -RT to your search string. I've refined my search to:

#edapp OR #iear OR #slide2learn -RT

Just as you can omit retweets, you can use the minus sign to exclude tweets that contain certain words and tweets from specific users. For example, I do not want tweets from the Twitter username _EducationApps_ to appear in my search results. So, I type a minus in front of _EducationApps_ in my search string so that tweets from this user do not clutter my results:

#edapp OR #iear OR #slide2learn -RT -_EducationApps_ -KnowPro

I can, of course, refine my search string even more. As I read through my search results, there will probably be more users I want to remove from my results and perhaps more keyword terms I want to add. 

To sum up, instead of simply saving a search for #edapp, you can refine your search string so that you are one click or tap away from reading tweets that are of interest to you.

App Store Volume Purchase Program Explained

Apple has recently updated the Terms and Conditions for iTunes and the App Store. In addition, the company has announced the App Store Volume Purchase Program. In the past Apple had no mechanism for downloading an app more than once, so schools would purchase an app one time and distribute it to all their iPod touches, iPads, and iPhones. This arrangement made app purchases for class sets of handhelds inexpensive but was not properly compensating app developers.

The new App Store Volume Purchase Program requires schools to follow Terms and Conditions that are different from the Terms and Conditions for individual consumers. Apple even reserves the right to audit purchases to make sure that schools are following all of the usage rules for educational institutions, including purchasing activation codes for each device onto which an app is installed.

In the Terms and Conditions and in the Volume Purchase Program Frequently Asked Questions, Apple describes the process of ordering vouchers which can be used to purchase activation codes. While schools with class sets would buy activation codes for each of their handhelds, only one code would be redeemed if all handhelds are synced to the same computer. The remaining activation codes would not be redeemed, but kept in case of an audit.

Jim Siegl made a useful flowchart that visually explains the process:

1. A Program Facilitator creates a quote for a one or more Volume Vouchers for a set dollar amount in $100 increments.
2. This request is routed to the district Authorized Purchaser who approves the quote and places the order.
3. The voucher is sent to the Program Facilitator via mail.
4. The Authorized Purchaser receives the Voucher and send the voucher to the Program Facilitator via internal mail.
5. Using a New Apple ID created for this purpose, the Program Facilitator searches for and purchases apps in
   variable quantities, up to the dollar limit of the voucher amount and billed accordingly.
6. The Program Facilitator will receive an email with a link to a dashboard, now populated with app-­‐specific codes. These codes can be distributed to users for redemption at the App Store.
7. The Program Facilitator distributes the app specific codes to the individual that requested them.
8. The requestor redeems the codes in one of three ways (assume 30 iPods)
   
   • a. One code is redeemed to a single iTunes account, iTunes is activated with that account on up to five 5 computers. The 29 remaining codes are kept on file in the event of an audit.
   • b. 30 codes are distributed and redeemed against 30 school managed iTunes accounts.
   • c. 30 codes are distributed and redeemed against 30 student managed iTunes accounts. App becomes property of the student.

As you can gather, the process is complicated. No more can teachers with class sets of Apple handhelds simply purchase an app in iTunes and sync. Now the teacher must work with the school district's Volume Purchase Program Facilitator to acquire a voucher and activation codes. Jim has written more about the intricacies of the Volume Purchase Program and step-by-step instructions on the IEAR wiki.

As part of the program, individual app developers have the option to offer up to 50% discounts on purchases of 20 or more of the same app. You won't see the discount in the App Store itself. You'll have to search for the title of app on the App Store Volume Purchase Program page. For example, when I search for SonicPics, I can see pricing for 1-19 units and for 20+ units.

For a class set of 30, it would cost about $45 to purchase SonicPics for each handheld. In the world of desktop software, that's not bad. However, it's still very pricey compared to the $3 it would cost before the Volume Purchase Program went into effect. The best way to take advantage of the power of Apple's handhelds is to equip them with multiple apps, which will add up very quickly. Not only will the Volume Purchase Program be costly when buying many different apps, but it also requires schools to keep documentation in case Apple decides to do an audit.

I think the extra cost and steps to purchase apps for schools will greatly curtail educational app purchases. Some good news is that the Volume Purchase Program is only for paid apps. Free apps can be downloaded immediately without going through the process outlined in the flowchart. It's reassuring to know that 30% of apps in the App Store are free and you can search the App Store for only free apps by conducting a Power Search.

With nearly 300,000 items in the App Store, there's a good chance you'll find a free alternative to a paid app. For instance, searching for Digital Storytelling gave me a great free alternative to SonicPics called Storyrobe.

Often apps are offered for free for a limited time. You can find out about these deals by searching Twitter for #edapp and using sites like FreeAppAlert and AppShopper. When downloading free apps, educators should document that the app was free. This way if the app does become a paid app in the future, there is proof the app was properly acquired.

Judi Epcke, Scott Meech, and I discuss the Volume Purchase Program in Episode #3 of the IEAR podcast. The three of us were confused and frustrated by Apple's new process. Hopefully as more schools transition to using the App Store Volume Purchase Program, we'll know more about the benefits and limitations of the recently developed rules for purchasing apps.

Hurry! Free eBooks from Kaplan

Kaplan Publishing is offering 100 free eBooks in the iBooks Store. To see what books are available, you first must download the free iBooks app (which requires an iPad or iOS 4).

Launch iBooks, tap Store, tap the Featured tab, and tap the ad for Kaplan's free books, or go to tonyv.me/kapfree in mobile Safari. You are taken to a page where you can see the free books in the categories of College, Graduate, Law, Medicine, Nursing and Education.

Free books include in the Education category include First Year Teacher, Sharp Vocabulary, Sharp Writing, Kaplan 101 Biology Practice Questions, and SOS: Stressed Out Student' Guide to Handling Peer Pressure.

The books are free until August 30, 2010.

If you'd like to be in the know for timely deals on eBooks and apps, follow me on Twitter (username tonyvincent) and/or search Twitter for the hashtag #edapp.

Slide2Learn Ustream Session

I had the opportunity to present "Creating Podcasts and Narrated Slideshows in Your Hand" to educators attending the Slide2Learn Mobile Learning Event in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. I was 8,000 miles away in Phoenix, so I spoke to the conference-goers through Ustream. Check out the 45 minute recording.

Description: Pod touch and iPad and their vast  library of apps make it possible for teachers and students to create compelling audio and video podcasts. Learn how educators and learners can plan, record, edit, and publish audio podcasts without the need for a desktop or laptop computer. Furthermore, explore the possibilities  when multiple apps can be used to create narrated slideshows where students can interact with content and show their learning in a multi-sensory way. The slideshows they create can be shared on the web and viewed on other devices. Learning is in hand when you create and share media on an iPod touch or iPad!

The recording starts with a few technical issues, but we get past them. While watching, see if you can spot my cat Dewey. Just like in past broadcasts, he loves to try to be a part of of the show.

iOS Apps Mentioned:

• Idea Sketch: Free mind-mapping and outlining.
• Voice Memos: Built-in app for recording. Microphone required.
• Photos: Built-in app where photos are saved and where they can be imported into other apps.
• iDoodleIt: Free drawing app.
• Glow Draw!: Draw with glowing colors on a black canvas.
• Color Magic: Color parts of a black and white photo.
• Comic Touch: Add speech bubbles to an image.
• Pixter: Combine photos into a scrapbook-type image.
• Photoshop Mobile: Crop, color, and enhance photos.
• SonicPics: Record a narration over a series of images.

Websites Mentioned:

• QuickieQ: Online student and audience response system.
• Todaysmeet: Free and simple chat room that works well on a handheld.
• TonyVincent.info: Tony's audio podcast recorded and posted from his iPod touch.
• Posterous.com: "Dead simple" way of posting blogs and podcasts by email.
• Learning in Hand Podcast #21: Episode about podcasting from iPod touch.
• Learning in Hand Podcast #14: Episode about voice recording from an iPod.
• #edapp: Read about the Twitter hastag.

Learning in Hand Podcast #22: Educational Apps

Learning in Hand Podcast Episode #22: Educational Apps features lists of apps for Apple's handhelds. It also showcases apps that educators have shared on Twitter.

Download, watch on Vimeo, or view in iTunes all 10 minutes 22 seconds of Episode #22 for some great app suggestions. Links to all sites and apps can be found below in the transcript.

Transcript:

This is the Learning in Hand podcast. My name is Tony Vincent and this is the show where I share tips, how-tos, and ideas for handhelds in teaching and learning. Episode 22, “Apps for Education” recorded June 2010, happens now!

Apple has sold over 100 million of their handhelds, which include iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. These devices run the iOS, which was formerly known as the iPhone Operating System. This month Apple is touting that 5 billion apps have been downloaded, which is about 50 downloads per iOS device! There's so much in the App Store and it's growing by about 700 apps per day!

It can be challenging for an educator to stay tuned into the latest and greatest apps.

You can search the App Store for apps that might go with your activity or unit of study. When searching you can limit the results to free apps by clicking Power Search. Pay attention to the reviews. Unfortunately, reviewers are often not educators so reviews and ratings might not reflect an app's true value to you. Be sure to pay attention to the apps at the bottom of the page listed under Customers Also Bought. I've discovered some great this way.

Outside of the App Store, there are many helpful people who have put together various lists of apps for teaching and learning. I've bookmarked over 30 lists of educational apps on my delicious page at delicious.com/tonyvincent. Let me tell you about a few of them.

• There's iear.org where you can click a Grade Level or choose a subject under Lockers. Some of the reviews have videos and all reviews are by educators.
• The Recess Duty blog has a list of the 99 iPod touch apps used by a middle school teacher during the 2009-2010 school year.
• Macworld has an extensive App Guide with various categories, including Education Genres.
• ConnSENSE Bulletin has a very extensive listing of apps. Apps have short descriptions of their educational uses.
• There's a great 24-page document by Eric Sailers on Scribd.com full of apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with a focus on Special Education. The list is arrnaged by category.
• Kindergarten Teachers at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Tennessee have a website for their Poddy Training project. They list a few of their favorite apps and their blog has some useful videos and advice.

My list of lists continues to grow! But I want to tell you about some of the apps I learned about from Twitter.

Long Division 1.4 for iPhone now lets you set you own problems http://bit.ly/926uii #edapp #edtechSat Jun 05 21:32:18 via webEsa Helttula idevbooks

Esa posted a link to the new features added to the Long Division app. It's an app that can be used to learn and study the long division method. Students can solve random problems, large and small, or enter their own. You might want to check out other apps by the developer, iDevBooks, including Long Multiplication, Column Subtraction, and Fraction Math.

Just been trying our #edapp StoryKit good for all ages could create work experience diary for older studentsMon Mar 22 14:21:38 via webIrene K cumbriaitouch

Irene wrote a tweet mentioning StoryKit. It's an app where users can create digital storybooks. Just combine text, a drawing or image, and recording a narration or sound effects. The storybook can be shared online. You'll get a URL, but the sounds won't play back on an iOS device--but sounds work great in a desktop browser. Here's an example.

You might notice that these Twitter posts, called tweets, contain #edapp. This is called a hastag. A hashtag begins with the number sign/pound symbol and then contains a keyword. Hastags make it easier to search and archive tweets. Educators are tagging their tweets that mention an education app with #edapp. This way, even people who aren't registered with Twitter, can go to search.twitter.com and search for #edapp. Twapper Keeper and Twubs are sites that keep archives of all #edapp Twitter posts and are full of great app suggestions.

@tonyvincent thank you for the #edapp idea -Faces iMake - Creative Craziness !!! - great tool for the classroom-http://appsto.re/facesimakeThu Jun 03 16:25:01 via webFaces iMake FacesIMake

The developer for the Faces iMake app wrote about their app that is all about "creative craziness." Instead of drawing with a pencil or paint, you draw with stuff. You use food and objects to make a face. It's actually quite fun and the objects can have meaning. For example, when I make a self-portrait, I included the foods I like and objects that have meaning to me.

A 3 inch ruler for the iPod touch/iPhone: http://bit.ly/dzRZXm limited but will include in iPod classroom app list... #edappFri Mar 19 16:49:04 via webRecessDuty RecessDuty

RecessDuty posted a link to a 3 inch ruler for iPod touch and iPhone called TapeMeasure!. It might be handy to instantly have a ruler around when you need it.

Numbl-Number Jumble Fun App: http://bit.ly/cOgz5u #edappWed Mar 24 12:48:55 via webRecessDuty RecessDuty

She also posted a link to Numbl - Number Jumble Fun. It's a game where 2 players touch numbered tiles as fast as they can to reach a target sum. This is great for sharpening mental math skills.

Mental Note (2.99) and Mental Note Lite. Nice combination of voice recording, text, picture, and drawing with email export. #edappSat May 22 09:58:41 via webmystre mystrEapps

Mystre mentioned Mental Note, both free and pay versions. It's a way to combine text, photos, sketches, and audio that can be organized and even shared through email.

Check Out - Podcasting for Education - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/podcasting-for-education/id352216825?mt=8 #iTunes #Free #EdApps #iPodFri Apr 30 14:16:20 via webFred Delventhal riptidef

Fred wrote about the Podcasting for Education app. It's a set of 7 tutorial videos for educators who want to learn how to podcast using GarageBand. If you're not a Mac user, this app isn't for you since GarageBand is Mac-only software.

"BrainPOP Releases Featured Movie App For iPad | BrainPOP Educators" ( http://bit.ly/bt1eQ9 ) #iPad #iear #edappSat Apr 03 23:39:09 via twitthatFred Delventhal riptidef

Fred also tweeted the BrainPOP Featured Movie app for iPad. While the current BrainPop.com site uses Flash and won't work on an iOS device, this free app brings one video from their educational site to the iPad. You don't get a choice in what the featured movie is, but they are all good. Tim and Moby rarely disappoint.

Nice overview of the ins and outs of iWork for the iPad. http://linkyy.com/KX #edappFri May 14 09:19:58 via Twitter for iPhoneKathy Schrock kathyschrock

And on the topic of iPad, Kathy tweeted a link to an article that tells about the ins and outs of iWork apps for iPad. That's Apple's suite of three apps: Pages for word processing, Keynote for slideshows, and Numbers for spreadsheets. They are $9.99 each and are pretty powerful apps, but they do have some frustrating limitations and quirks.

Like you might have guessed, I'm on Twitter and I often share apps, especially ones that happen to be on sale. Sales typically last only a day or two, so Twitter is a great way to share these timely deals.

My favorite app, SonicPics, is FREE today--and that's no joke. http://tonyv.me/sp #edappThu Apr 01 07:21:38 via webTony Vincent tonyvincent

For example, one of my favorite iPod touch apps, SonicPics, was offered for free April 1st. SonicPics is like Microsoft PhotoStory where you can narrate a slideshow of images. The end product is a movie file you can share with others. You'l need a microphone if you're using this on an iPod touch.

iCut app is free today. It's a game where you cut shapes into congruent parts: http://tonyv.me/icut #edappWed May 26 02:55:19 via webTony Vincent tonyvincent

Another app that was offered for free is iCut. It's a puzzle game where players cut shapes into congruent parts. It starts out easy but gets harder and harder.

Prices for apps change periodically. So prices you see on Twitter or on websites may be outdated. And sometimes an app might change its name or disappear from the App Store.

Take a 3D view inside a cell with iCell! http://tonyv.me/icell #edappFri Apr 02 00:32:53 via webTony Vincent tonyvincent

An app that is free and completely awesome is iCell. It gives you a 3D look into an animal, plant, or bacteria cell. You can spin and zoom around the cell. Tap a structure to see its name and read about it.

RT @tonyvincent: Take a 3D view inside a cell with iCell! http://tonyv.me/icell #edappFri Apr 02 00:33:39 via TweetDeckLucas Gillispie PCSTech

You'll notice that many of the tweets when you search for #edapp are re-tweets. That means that the person tweeting is repeating a tweet from someone else. When someone retweets, they thought the original post was so go that it was worth repeating. Retweet posts often start with RT.

EnterState app is hard! Tap 50 states in 60 secs or less: http://tonyv.me/enterstate #edappWed Jun 09 01:15:35 via webTony Vincent tonyvincent

I tweeted about EnterState. It's a game where you try to tap 50 states in a minute or less. It's really hard and I have yet to meet anyone who can do it, which makes it a great geography challenge for students.

A new talking picture book every day on your iPhone/iPod touch: http://tonyv.me/readmestories #edappWed Mar 24 07:28:15 via webTony Vincent tonyvincent

Very young readers will like Read Me Stories. You can get a new talking picture book a day. You can read 7 books during your free trial, after that books are 10 cents each.

Please consider tweeting about apps you like for teaching and learning. Just remember to include #edapp. Also, it's helpful to include a link to the app in iTunes. Do that by searching for the app in iTunes. On the app's details page, click the triangle next to the download button and choose copy link. You can paste that into Twitter. If Twitter doesn't shrink the link for you, you might need to make it shorter first by using a URL shortener service like bit.ly.

You've seen a nice sampling of apps. Thanks to everyone who shared these on Twitter and keep them coming!

That’s it for Episode 22. For a transcript, web links, and much more about iPods, iPads, and podcasting, visit learninginhand.com. Thanks for watching!

iPad, iPhone, iPod touch Issues for Schools

Apple's handhelds are finding their way into more and more classrooms. But, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are certainly not perfect. In fact, there are some issues that are annoying and some that are potential deal-breakers. Some issues have work-arounds while others do not at this time.

Web Filtering
When handhelds are connected to a school's filtered Wi-Fi network, the internet is filtered on the device. That means if a site is blocked at school on a desktop computer, that site is also blocked on iPad and iPod touch. But what about when the handheld is used places other than school? Homes (and schools) without network-level filters can use OpenDNS as a web filter. OpenDNS is free and filters everything on a Wi-Fi network when its settings are applied to a router. Besides network filtering, Safe Eyes Mobile ($19.99) and Mobicip ($4.99) are apps that give teachers and parents control over web content by installing an alternative browser. For an alternative browser to be effective, Safari has to be set to Off in Settings > General > Restrictions.

Wi-Fi Authentication
Certain school Wi-Fi networks cannot authenticate Apple's handhelds. I don't know enough about networking to tell you what kind of networks do not allow authentication, but I've received emails from educators struggling to get iPod touch authenticated and stay authenticated at school. An iPod touch or iPad becomes a lot less useful when it cannot access the internet. Before purchasing devices, be sure to test one to be sure it works properly with your network.

Projecting the Screen
When showing a group how to use a handheld or when a student wants to show what they've done, it would be nice to connect to a projector. While there are video adapters for iPhone and iPod, they only project movies and photos--they cannot mirror what you see on the devices' screens. iPad has a VGA adapter, but it is very limited in what it outputs. The best solution is to point a document camera at the device. Read my post about using a USB camera for showing a handheld's screen. If you already have a document camera, then you already have a way to project the screen. Video from USB and document cameras will show up on an interactive whiteboard, but you won't be able to control the handheld from the whiteboard.

Keyboard
iPod touch's onscreen keyboard is not the best for typing more than a couple paragraphs. While there are wireless and attachable keyboards available for iPad, currently there are no good solutions for using external keyboards with iPod touch. Hopefully with the upcoming iPhone 4.0 software update, iPhones and iPod touches can use external and Bluetooth keyboards.

Printing
Printing is not a feature supported by Apple on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Apple expects you to sync or email what you need printed to a desktop computer. In a classroom it would be much easier to bypass the desktop and print directly from the handheld. There are many apps designed for printing. These apps require the printer to be networked or require a helper application to run on the desktop computer connected to the printer. Printing apps are limited in what they actually let you print and I've found them to be buggy. So what if you can't print--take the opportunity to go paperless.

Flash & Online Editors
It's a widely known fact that websites that contain Flash content do not work on Apple's handhelds. Another annoyance is that many online text editing fields do not work on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. This means that you cannot compose a blog post, work on a Google Doc, or edit a wiki page in the Safari browser. There are apps available for posting to blogs and working with Google Docs, but it would be so much better to interact with blogs, Docs, and wikis in the same way we do on desktops. If you really want to have a full desktop web experience on an Apple handheld, download the free CloudBrowse app. With CloudBrowse, you can edit blogs, docs, and wikis. You can also visit and use Flash-based websites like Starfall and TeacherTube. CloudBrowse actually displays the video and sound from a virtual desktop web browser. Just be aware that there may be security concerns when logging into sites with CloudBrowse and that content accessed through CloudBrowse is not filtered.

Simultaneous Syncing
Windows computers do not do well with simultaneously syncing multiple iPods (and neither do Macs for that matter). Apparently this is because the USB port on most Windows machines do not have high power capacity USB ports that newer Macintoshes have. You can use a Windows computer with syncing hubs, carts, and cases--just plug them in about 5 at a time. Let the 5 sync, then plug in the next 5, wait for them to sync, and then the next 5, until all are plugged in and charging. Unless it's the very first sync or you are adding gigabytes of audio and video, syncing takes just a couple minutes.

Moving Icons & Deleting Apps
Holding down the Home button makes the Home screen icons wiggle. While wiggling, icons can be moved to and from the dock and between Home pages. When wiggling, Xs appear in the corners of the icons. When touches, that X deletes the app from the device. There is not way to lock down icons. Some classrooms are having issues with students moving icons and deleting apps. Whether this is done accidentally or maliciously, it can be a problem, particularly for class sets that are shared among students. Tracking which students use which devices can help reduce malicious app deleting if you have clear consequences for mistreatment of equipment.

Restricting App Installation
Schools typically want complete control over what apps are loaded on a class set of iPod touches. You would think the solution could be to go into Settings > General > Restrictions and turn off the option for Installing Apps. The problem with restricting app installation is that it prevents installing of apps through syncing in addition to Wi-Fi. So with the restriction on, a teacher would have to change that setting on each and every iPod in order to install any new apps and then enable the restriction after syncing. Instead of restricting app installation, a better solution is to just not give students the iTunes password. That password is required before downloading apps from the App Store.

Account Password Loophole
Leave it to students to find a workaround! Yes, you need a password to download from the App Store on iPod touch and iPad--but, there is a loophole. Students can go to Settings > Store and tap Sign Out. They can then sign into their own account and download apps using their own password. A solution would be to enable the Installing Apps restriction, but like I wrote above, that is a pain and is very cumbersome when you do want to install apps. Again, I think the current solution for this is to have consequences for misuse instead of locking down the devices.

App Store Volume Purchase Program
Apple has recently updated the Terms and Conditions for iTunes and the App Store. In addition, the company has announced the App Store Volume Purchase Program. In the past Apple had no mechanism for downloading an app more than once, so schools would purchase an app one time and distribute it to all their iPod touches, iPads, and iPhones. This arrangement made app purchases for class sets of handhelds inexpensive but was not properly compensating app developers. The new App Store Volume Purchase Program requires schools to follow Terms and Conditions that are different from the Terms and Conditions for individual consumers. Apple even reserves the right to audit purchases to make sure that schools are following all of the usage rules for educational institutions, including purchasing activation codes for each device onto which an app is installed. Read more at App Store Volume Purchase Program Explained.

Do you have suggestions for dealing with these issues? Got an issue you're struggling with? Let's discuss in the comments.

Show an iPod/iPad Screen: New $69 USB Camera

Unless you're willing to jailbreak your device or you're Steve Jobs, there's not a way to directly pipe your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad's screen into a computer or projector. Teachers who use these devices with students would love to have this feature. Direct video from a handheld or slate allows for crisp, crystal-clear, and glare-free video of the the device. This could be projected on the wall so the whole class can see what's on the small device.

You might think that since Apple sells video cables and iPad VGA adapters that these would be good solutions for enlarging an Apple device's screen. Unfortunately, these adapters do not project everything you see on the screen--they are designed to only show photos and movies. In the case of iPad, apps must be programmed to output to the VGA adapter (and almost all are not), and the VGA adapter won't show the Home screen.

If you've got a document camera in your classroom, you're pretty good to go. Cameras from AVerMedia, Elmo, and Epson are popular, and they connect directly to a projector to show live video of what's under the lens. Unfortunately, document cameras can also be pricey. Some teachers have found less expensive USB web cams that do an acceptable job of showing a device's screen.

I've been on the hunt for a good portable USB camera. That's because I need it to travel with me, and the video needs to be directed through my computer so I don't have to switch video connections when toggling between my slideshow and the camera. In the past I've used an iSight Camera mounted on a flexible stand. Today the iSight is no longer available. I've recently been using using a Hue HD Webcam. I got it on sale for $30, but the problem is that the stand falls over when pointed down like a document camera.

Thanks to a suggestion I heard on the Bit by Bit podcast, I am now using the IPEVO Point 2 View USB Camera. It's $69 and gives a better picture than my cheaper Hue HD Webcam. Point 2 View is designed to be used like a document camera, so the base is weighted down. Point 2 View adjusts height and position using a multi-jointed stand instead of a flexible stand so it doesn't wobble.

Point 2 View comes with P2V software for Macintosh and Windows. This software lets you view the camera's feed in a window or you can go full screen. It also has a variety of adjustments if you want to try to improve the picture.

The camera has a one-touch focus button. I really like that it has two auto-focus modes. There's Continuous and Single. I keep mine on Single so that I can set it to focus on my iPod touch, and it doesn't change--even when my hand is in front of the iPod. Speaking of focus, this camera does a great job. Below is a screen capture to show you how clear the image is. Video from Point 2 View is better than other USB camera I've used. 

When using a camera to show an iPod, iPhone, or iPad, I've found it looks best to turn the brightness setting on the device to about 20%. Be sure to turn off Auto-Brightness (in Settings app > Brightness) and adjust Auto-Lock (in Settings app > General) to 5 minutes or higher so the device doesn't keep dimming and turning off.

Of course, there are others uses in education for a USB camera like the IPEVO's Point 2 View. Check out IPEVO's Bring Your Curriculum to Life one-page PDF. Other resources for using document cameras include Teaching Tips from eMINTS and the Document Cameras in the Classroom handout.

Update May 13, 2011: After a year of using Point 2 View, the pin in the base has come loose and often falls out. I know others have also experienced this malfunction. Point 2 View's warranty is for one year, so the IPEVO will not replace my base. The company does not sell the base separately from the camera, so I have bought a whole new camera to replace the broken base. Though, I am not using Point 2 View nearly as much now that iPad 2 has video mirroring.

iPad and Keyboard Observations

iPad has a pretty large onscreen keyboard. I can type 34 words per minute if iPad is propped up in the $39 Apple case.  I can type twice as fast with fewer mistakes on a full-sized physical keyboard. Writing more than a couple paragraphs using the the onscreen keyboard is not only slow, it feels laborious. Apple knows this and sells the $69 Keyboard Dock.

The Keyboard Dock is the same size as Apple's Bluetooth Keyboard. The Bluetooth Keyboard also works with iPad. You'll want some way to prop up iPad since the Bluetooth Keyboard doesn't have a built-in dock. The Keyboard Dock not only props up iPad, it makes an instant connection.  There is no setup or software required. Bluetooth keyboards require pairing, and pairing wireless keyboards with class sets of handhelds has had disastrous results in some classrooms.

When a Keyboard Dock or Bluetooth Keyboard is in use, it keeps iPad's onscreen keyboard from appearing. You can see more of your screen with the onscreen keyboard out of the way. That is unless you're using an iPhone/iPod touch app, because non-iPad apps aren't smart enough to hide the keyboard.

As you probably know, iPad cannot display Flash content.  That means interactive sites like Glogster, VoiceThread, Myna, and Starfall aren't available on iPad. Furthermore, some sites that do not use Flash do not work properly on iPad. For example, I cannot add, edit, or move notes on a Wallwisher page. Even worse, editors used in blogs and wikis are unusable. While I can view Google Docs, PBworks, Wikispaces, and Blogger pages, I cannot edit them with iPad's Safari browser (this goes for iPhone and iPod touch as well). I have no idea why iPad is not compatible with these editors, but I do hope the situation changes. I would love for me (and any iPad-using students) to be able to contribute to docs, wikis, and blogs. I'd have more of a need for a physical keyboard if I was able to contribute to these sites from iPad.

Seeing iPad standing up behind a keyboard brings back memories of Palm handhelds. Coincidentally, attachable keyboards for those device were also $69. Unlike the Apple keyboard, the keyboards for Palms could fold up, making them easily fit in a container or backpack.

iPod touch and iPhone fit perfectly in the Keyboard Dock, but the keyboard does not work with those devices. While I can type 34 word per minute on iPad, I can only type 18 words per minute on iPod touch. That's where a keyboard would really come in handy! Perhaps iPod touch will work with the Keyboard Dock after Apple releases a new software update.

Buy an iPad and a Keyboard Dock and you're spending at least $568. For that kind of dough, you can get a nice laptop or a couple netbooks...

iPad Party: iPad Q&A

I hosted a live "iPad Party" on Ustream Saturday. I was joined by Sara and Rosy, and we took a first look at Apple's iPad together. It was 90 minutes of exploration and some silliness.

We answered questions from the couple-dozen people in the live chat room. We also answered questions that were submitted through Google Moderator. Here are some of the questions and answers:

"Do attachable microphones work with the iPad?"

My Belkin TuneTalk does not work with iPad. My earbuds with mic did work. However, only the left channel recorded, so playback came through only one side in my earbuds. All this is ok because iPad's built-in mic (which is at the top of the device) is pretty good.

"Can the iPad be remotely controlled? This would be handy if it was connected to a videoprojector in a classroom." jjedtechguy, Salem, OR

So far there are no apps to remotely control iPad. It would be cool to be able to advance slides with an iPhone or iPod touch, though.

"Do iPod and iPhone power adapters also charge iPad? Do iPhone/iPod attachable batteries work"

iPad need a 10W charger, so most iPhone and iPod power adapters do not charge iPad. In fact, most powered USB hubs won't even charge iPad (or they charge very, very slowly and do not charge when the device is on). Newer Macs can charge them. Apple recommends for the fastest charge to use the included power adapter. My iPhone battery pack does charge iPad.

"In the Steve Jobs demo it appeared that no flash plug-in existed. Will this limit on-line sites students/teachers can access as learning tools in the classroom?" Mr Steve, Phoenix, AZ

The lack of flash does limit the iPad's ability. Sites like Discovery Streaming and sites with interactive Flash content don't work on iPad.

"Can you print over WiFi from the iPad?"

 Printing is not a built-in function. However, there is an app for that. I bought Fax Print & Share and was able to print from the app to my network printer without any setup. It prints PDFs and images, so you just have to save to those formats to print.

"Can you edit a Google Doc in the browser? (Currently you can't do this on an iPhone or iPod touch)"

You can edit a Google spreadsheet, but not Doc in Safari for iPad. This seems to be a limitation Google imposes, so hopefully they flip the switch to allow editing of word processing documents soon. There are apps that open and save to Google Docs, but I really want to do it from the browser like I do on a desktop computer.

"Can you project "apps" or is just Keynote and Video?" SMeech, Kenilworth, IL

The VGA adapter does not output a mirror of the iPad's screen. Apps have to be specifically programmed to output to the secondary display.

"Can voice memos be made on the iPad like they can on the iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/voice-memos.html)." jjedtechguy, Salem, OR

There is no Apple Voice Memos app built-in. I downloaded the free Voice Memos app from the App Store. It works just like the iPhone version with one important exception: it cannot run in the background. That means you can't continue recording when you leave the app.

"Is there a place for Presenter Notes in Keynote for iPad?"

No. Keynote does not support presenter notes. In fact, if you sync a desktop Keynote doc to iPad, it removed the any notes you might have already had.

"As a teacher or administrator, can I load applications on a set of iPads at one time, or do they have to be loaded individually? Can I load a set of applications on each device at once, or again individually?" Bruce A, Grand Rapids, MI

iPad syncs just like iPod touch and iPad. Apps on the syncing computer are transferred to all iPads you sync with. I haven't tried to sync multiple iPads simultaneously. This may not work like iPod touch because of iPad's 10W power requirements. So iPad may have to be synced on-at-a-time to a computer (but that computer can have many iPads synced to it no problem).

"Can/Will apps developed for the iPad format (Keynote, Pages, Filterstorm, etc.) also work on an iPod/iPhone?" C Chausis, Lincolnshire, IL

There are 3 kinds of apps in the App Store:

1. iPhone & iPod touch: These are the apps we're known and loved for a couple years. They work on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
2. iPad only apps: Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and many other apps are iPad only. They will not load on an iPhone or iPod touch. They have their own section of the App Store and their own section in your iTunes Library.
3. Apps Designed for both iPhone & iPad: These apps have a + icon in the App Store and when downloaded, it like having 2 apps in one. There is an iPad version that takes up the full screen and there is also included an iPhone/iPod touch version for the smaller screen.

You can find more questions and answers at the Google Moderator Series for iPad Party. There are also some great questions and answers at iPad 4 Edu.

Create Narrated Slideshows with SonicPics

SonicPics is currently my favorite app! It is like Microsoft's PhotoStory for iPod touch. Simply select photos to bring into a SonicPics project. Then record a narration for the project, flicking the screen to advance to the next image. You'll need a microphone to record your narration on iPod touch. After recording, SonicPics combines the narration and images into a movie. You can email the mpeg-4 movie, share through WiFi to a computer, or upload to YouTube.

As an example, I was going to take lots of screenshots while using SonicPics. I was then going to narrate the screenshots using SonicPics. edumacnation had the same idea and already posted a video to YouTube. Check it out below.

Keep in mind that images used in a SonicPics project can come from many different sources. They could be screenshots from other apps, photos synced from a digital camera, edited photos from Photoshop.com Mobile, pictures exported from a drawing app, comics made in Comic Touch, saved images from Safari, etc. 

There are loads of student uses for SonicPics. There's sharing personal narratives, reviewing curriculum, telling about field trips, creating presentations, and so much more. In fact, read about how Louise Duncan's students are putting together app reviews using SonicPics.

SonicPics is usually priced at $2.99. Today it's on sale for the price of free--and this is no April Fools joke!

iPad Nuggets from Apple's Guided Tour Videos

In anticipation of the April 3rd iPad launch in the U.S., Apple has posted Guided Tours. These videos take you through some of the features in iPad apps like Safari, Mail, iBooks, and Keynote. You'll immediately notice that Apple is using these videos for marketing. You'll hear phrases like: easy, magical, it doesn't get any simpler, immersive, intimate, fun, effortless, so smart, and beautiful. I noticed the similarities and difference between iPad apps and iPhone/iPod touch apps. There are far more similarities than differences.

While watching the Guided Tours, I took some notes and made some observations: 

• In Safari and other apps tap and hold for more options, much like right-click on Windows computers.
• Watch video in Safari without leaving the page you're on or in full screen.
• Mail app in landscape show a listing of the messages in your inbox. Rotate to portrait and a single message fills the screen.
• Like iPhone and iPod touch, press and hold an image in Safari or Mail to save the image in the Photos apps.
• Mail attachments like PDF and Microsoft Office documents open full screen.
• The onscreen keyboard in landscape mode is "nearly the same size of a notebook keyboard, so it is effortless to type on."
• When typing, typos are fixed and iPad even "corrects spelling automatically as you go."
• Photos can be arrange in albums and events. You can quickly zoom photos in an album by dragging your finger along the bar at the bottom of the screen.
• Flip iPad over so you can show a friend and the screen instantly adjusts so the image is not upside down to them.
• Create a slideshow from you photos using some basic transitions and the music you've synced to iPad.
• Up to 10 hours of video playback on one charge.
• iPad's screen is designed to look great at just about any angle.  This is helpful when sharing an iPad.
• Videos play in full screen.  Tapping the screen displays the video controls. The exception are videos in the YouTube app.  Those don't play in full screen by default.
• Like iPhone, the app for playing music and podcasts is called iPod.  This could be the answer to my beef with iPod touch's Music app--it isn't just music, it's podcasts, audiobooks, voice recordings, etc. (Unlike iPhone, there is also a Video app.)
• The iPod app can play in the background while you launch other apps on iPad. This is the same for iPhone and iPod touch.  This allows you to do things like listen to a podcast and type notes into a word processor app.
• The iTunes app gives you access to the iTunes Store. I like that you can browse the Podcast Directory and iTunes U and download episodes from within the app.
• The ereader and bookstore app, iBooks, is not built-in but is available as a free download from the App Store.
• Books you've installed appear on a bookshelf when you launch iBooks. Tap a book to open it.  Swipe across the screen to turn the page.
• iBooks allows for changing the text size and font.
• Tap a word in iBooks to look it up in a dictionary, copy it, or bookmark it.
• Search a book in iBooks for instances of a word or phrase.
• Jump to any chapter from the Table of Contents in a book.
• Change the screen brightness without leaving the iBooks app.
• iBooks in portrait mode shows one page. iBooks in landscape mode shows two pages side-by-side.
• I love the screen orientation lock so I can use iPad while laying on its side and the screen won't rotate.
• The $9.99 Keynote app is for creating presentations with charts, graphs, and animations. 
• Keynote only works in landscape mode.
• Keynote appears to have the same things as Keynote '09 for Macintosh.
• Bring in presentations from your Mac and even PowerPoint into Keynote for iPad.
• Add any photos from the Photos app and any video from the Video app to a Keynote slide.
• One of my favorite Keynote '09 features is alignment guide lines.  That same feature is in Keynote for iPad.
• Want to have two images the same size on a slide in Keynote? While resizing, touch the image you want the size to match.
• Rotate photos on a Keynote slide by twisting two fingers on the screen.
• Styles images in Keynote with picture frames, shadows, and reflections.
• Items on a Keynote slide can have built-in and built-out animations. You can also set a transition for each slide.
• Show a Keynote presentation on a projector or TV using the VGA adpater (not included in the box with iPad--it costs extra). It was unclear from the video if Presenter Notes appear on iPad's screen while the slides appear on the projector's screen.
• Save Keynote projects by using iWork.com, sending via email, or exporting. You can export as a Keynote '09 file or a PDF.
• Pages is the $9.99 word processor and has 16 templates. Like Pages for Macintosh, it can be used to create some great-looking documents.
• "Pages tracks what you type so it can suggest words, correct spelling, and insert punctation automatically as you go."  It will detect when you create a list and format it for you.
• Like iBooks, you can look up a word in the Dictionary by tapping it.
• Pages can import documents from Microsoft Word. I really wish it would import and export to Google Docs.
• Looks like lots of fonts are available in Pages.
• Like Pages '09 for Mac, Pages for iPad has many layout options, including columns and word wrap. 
• Add frames, borders, shadows, and reflections to your images in Pages.
• Adjust your margins and add headers and footers to your document in Pages.
• The optional iPod Keynote Dock is available if you have lots of typing to do.  It charges iPad while you work. The Apple Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard also works with iPad.  You'll probably want the iPad dock or fashion some kind of stand for iPad if you're using the wireless keyboard.
• Send Pages documents through email, share at iWork.com, or export as Pages, PDF, or Word file. Too bad there's no print option in Pages.
• Numbers is Apple's $9.99 spreadsheet app for iPad. "Work with tables, charts, formulas, photos, and graphics on a flexible canvas you control just by touching."
• Numbers has 16 Apple templates. You can import Numbers '09 documents from a Mac or Excel documents from a Mac or PC.
• Double-tapping a cell in Numbers brings up an intelligent keyboard that displays the key layout you need.
• Numbers includes "clear and concise" help for formulas.
• Numbers includes nine different kinds of charts like bar, column, and pie. Adjust the look and labels to the way you want them.
• Numbers can be handy for entering data. Create a spreadsheet and then use the built-in forms to add data. As you fill out a form, your spreadsheet is updated instantly.
• Like Keynote and Pages, Numbers files can be moved off the device by Email, iWork.com, and through exporting to Numbers for Mac or a PDF (Excel wasn't mentioned in the video).

There will be far more iPad apps besides Apple's. Yes, iPad can run all those apps already in the App Store, but developers are rushing to create iPad-specific apps to take advantage of the larger screen. You might be interested to watch 10 Amazing iPad App Video Demonstrations to see iPad apps like Mighty Meeting and Sketchnotes in action.

If you're curious about iPad, please join me live on Ustream Saturday, April 3rd at noon Pacific Time for iPad Party. I'll have a camera pointed at my new iPad and we can explore its potential for teaching and learning. iPad Party will be interactive--we'll use Ustream's chatroom and talk with folks through Skype. Please vote on and submit questions now at this Google Moderator Series. iPad Party will be recorded and we'll address all of the questions asked in Google Moderator.